Hair coloring is undertaken to change or cover the color of hair for many different reasons. For instance, hair is often colored to cover hair that has turned gray, to lighten or change the shade of hair, or to highlight or lowlight hair. The hair coloring procedures used to generate these results are often markedly different and use different coloring materials. The hair coloring materials may be dyes that may or may not be easily washed from the colored hair with conventional shampoo and water, or other materials.
For as many reasons exist for a person to color their hair, there exist nearly as many systems for applying color to hair. For instance, hair may be colored by hair professionals in salons using liquid dyes. The dyes are often thoroughly mixed with the hair by a technician or stylist. This process may also be completed at home using dyes purchased at retail stores. A system for applying color to hair is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,177, which depicts a cartridge coupled to a plurality of hollow dispensing tines. The tines resemble the bristles of a common hair brush. The cartridge includes a piston that forces a hair dye through the tines to contact hair while the cartridge is passed through hair as though brushing hair using a conventional hair brush. While these systems provide methods for applying dye to hair, most of these systems do not facilitate easy to use methods of applying dye to select portions of hair on a person's head. In addition, most conventional systems involve undesirable contact of a person's hands with hair dyes, which can contain irritants.
Thus, a need exists for a hair coloring apparatus capable of overcoming these and other disadvantages of the conventional systems.